everybody. this morning on "early today," verge of collapse. new questions about the credibility of the accuser in the strauss-kahn sexual assault case. no deal, no break. the senate cancels its vacation plans with the country headed towards a potential debt default crisis. and what's wrong with this picture? chinese officials catch flak for releasing an obviously doctored chinese officials catch flak for releasing an obviously doctored photo. captions paid for by nbc-universal television hello, and good morning to you. welcome to our viewers across

the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm veronica de la cruz. today we begin with a case in jeopardy. french diplomat dominique strauss-kahn is set to appear in court today following sudden questions about the hotel maid who has accused him of sexual assault. jonathan dientz from wnbc 4 new york has the details. >> reporter: defense lawyers will ask for dominique strauss-kahn to be released from house arrest amid new questions about his accuser and her credibility. and it appears prosecutors are expected to agree to some reduced bail conditions. that according to a source familiar with the case who says there are now problems for prosecutors and the attempted rape case. "the new york times" reports the victim had contact with a suspected drug dealer and spoke to him about the dsk case and she allegedly had accepted cash deposits in the past of over $100,000 and that she had numerous cell phones.

the "times" says she was not honest with police about that past. the attorney for the maid did not return repeated calls for comment, but these details raise questions about her credibility, and defense lawyers plan to ask the judge to now release strauss-kahn on his own recognizance given these questions of credibility. >> that was jonathan dienst reporting. it looks like lawmakers will be canceling their vacation due to debt ceiling talks. for more on that we go live to tracie potts who is in washington. good morning to you. >> reporter: veronica, good morning. it looks like there's the will to get something done here. a democratic aide says that there is a deal in the works allowing the u.s. to borrow a trillion dollars in putting off the default on our bills for another seven months. there's another version of that if they can get to $2 trillion

in agreed cuts it would put off the deal till the end of 2012. house speaker john boehner says he hasn't seen anything in writing at this point. president obama wanting to raise taxes to bring down america's red ink. republicans refusing to do that. now the tone turning nasty since the president earlier this week said you guys need to stay here over the break and work this out, as opposed to taking so much time off. the other concern, this according to harry reid, what will the market do? how might the market react if they don't work out a deal and how might that affect ordinary families? veronica? >> tracie potts in washington. thank you. a federal judge has blocked a controversial south dakota law that forces women who choose to have an abortion to face a three-day wait, the nation's longest. yesterday preliminary injunction sought by planned parenthood was granted preventing the law from taking effect today while it's challenged in court, saying it would humiliate and degrade women. the judge said the law is probably unconstitutional and

that there's a public interest in protecting a woman's right to seek an abortion. under the measure women face a 72-hour waiting period and would have to under go counseling at pregnancy centers that discourage abortions. now here is a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in arizona a transformer explosion at a power plant sent plumes of thick, black smoke into the air yesterday afternoon. the blast sparked a raging fire that consumed several pieces of equipment at the substation. crews worked into the night to restore power to an estimated 80,000 customers who lost electricity during the heat of the day. fortunately, no one was injured. in florida a morning excursion turned deadly after a sailboat burst into flames. two men on board the 34-foot vessel were rescued and rushed to a palm beach hospital. one man died as a result of severe burns to his body. the other man is said to be in stable condition.

in kentucky, officials are looking for a truck they believe caused a 15-car train derailment. sheriff's officials say the rail was offset after a dark green tractor-trailer slammed into the truck and then drove off. cleanup crews hope to have the area cleared by this afternoon. and, finally, a couple of california surfers have come up with a faster way to catch a wave, with a motorized surfboard. yeah, that's right. the remote controlled wave jet has an engine mounted on the bottom of the board, and some critics are calling it cheating, but the wave jet creators hope their board will encourage more surfers to dive in. now, for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. not just surfers diving in, but people as myself. i could never get on a surfboard. that's an incentive to try. >> if it's motorized, if you

fall off, does it just sail away? there must be like a jet ski thing where it shuts off. interesting if it catches on. what tricks do we have in store for your holiday weekend. looking towards the weekend, things will warm up in the west just in time for the fourth of july. we'll see warm conditions in the middle of the country. continue to expand in the desert southwest. if you want to call 105 a break yesterday in phoenix, that's what it was because it will only get much hotter in next couple of days. the heat will expand. yesterday only 97 in vegas. not even triple digits. that will change. 60s in the northwest. we need to catch a break and finally get some warmer weather there. there's nothing happening. the storm system in the rockies is kicking out. high pressure is building in. a little bit of a wind shift, not a lot. but the marine layer has been pushed off the coast. even the beaches, especially california, a little warmer over the next several days. here's the forecast for today. this is very nice. this is what everyone's been waiting for. 82 in l.a. should be nice.

medford enjoyable at 88. even the northwest getting up to the 70s. but a little hotter than we'd like. phoenix today 113 in vegas. about 106. that heat isn't going anywher sunshine, calm conditions, exactly what we needed for a busy travel day today. >> 82 degrees in los angeles. there are so many reason to be jealous of the west coast. >> that's nice. >> so nice. stocks surge, corn is planted, and the ultimate case of atm envy? your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, if you are into clashing, shape shifting, technological behemoths, then this weekend's theaters might have a movie for you.

>> coming up, another walk-off between the cubs and giants. the phils lose one of their aces, and we're getting close to football ending its lockout. now there's no basketball. you're watching "early today."

well, good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of your top headlines this morning. firefighters in new mexico say they are confident they've stopped a 93,000-acre wildfire from advancing towards the los alamos nuclear lab. nearby residents evacuated earlier this week won't be allowed back home until sunday at the earliest. the defense rested its case in the murder trial of casey anthony on thursday without the 25-year-old defendant taking the stand. she's accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, caylee. during a farewell tribute to defense secretary robert gates, president obama surprised him with a medal of freedom, the country's highest civilian

honor. gates is being replaced by cia chief leon panetta. england's prince william and his new wife catherine arrived in canada thursday for their first official trip abroad. the newlyweds arrived in ottawa to cheering crowds before attending an informal barbecue and a reception. and check this out. officials in china's sichuan province have apologized for releasing a blatantly doctored photo of three men inspecting a highway project so poorly photo shopped, it appears the men are levitating. the photographer admits to combining photos because he felt his originals weren't impressive enough. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,414 after gaining 152 points yesterday. the s&p was up 13 points. and the nasdaq rose 33. taking a look at overseas trading today. in tokyo the nikkei added 51 points, while the hang seng climbed 336.

well, stocks closed after a rough month and quarter thursday with their biggest four-day rally since fall last year. that lifted the dow slightly into the black for the second quarter and the s&p 500 and nasdaq with only fractional losses. end of quarter buying by fund managers who typically sell losers and buy winners to sweeten up portfolios helped fuel the rally. also helping midwest business activity enjoyed surprising strength this month. investors shrugged off a slightly disappointing weekly employment report. greece's parliament approved budget cuts and asset sales, further measures necessary for new bailouts. metals manufacturer worthington jumped nearly 10% after raising its quarterly dividend and announcing a big stock buy back. ebay rose more than 4% on upgrades in the wake of a fed decision favorable to the pay pal service. this spring farmers planted the second largest corn crop in 70 years. good for consumers. it should bring down food prices, but bad for farmers who probably will lose income.

as a result, fertilizer maker cf industries fell more than 5%. a mixed trade commission verdict in eastman kodak's patent dispute with the makers of iphones and black ber is sent kodak tumbling. lockheed martin cut about 1,500 job, anticipating reduced defense spending. talking about feeling atm inadequate. a customer using a bank machine in long island's swanky east hampton village found the previous user left behind their savings account bank receipt showing a balance of $99 million. hmm. another sports lockout, a see-saw battle between the giants and the cubs and who is making noise at wimbledon? plus, talk about coming right into your living room. your early morning sports headlines, ah, are straight ahead. well, in weather, of course, everyone is getting ready for the big fourth of july forecast, and i'll have that coming up for you. you're watching "early today."

and a very good morning to you. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." in sports with strained labor relations already driving the nfl into lockout land, yesterday professional basketball joined the club. here's nbc's fred roggin with an

early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning, first the nfl and now the nba. the league has locked out their players after a collective bargaining agreement expired at midnight. that means all business officially put on hold, unless the two sides come to an agreement, they won't be playing basketball in the fall. there's always tennis, and no one is going to lock them out. maria sharapova won in straight sets to advance to her first wimbledon final in seven years. the women's final is tomorrow on nbc. then there's baseball. cubs and giants. pablo sandoval. solo shot at the top of the 13th to give san francisco the lead. giovany soto stepped up and belted one in the bottom of the 13th. two games, two walk-offs for the cubs. they won it 5-2. phils have a great pitching staff, but they took a hit against the red sox. cole hamels day-to-day after a line drive took off his glove bruising his right hand. he had to leave the game. jason varitek had to leave the yard twice. a pair of homers. boston finally got a win in

philly. if you have 3-d tv, this is for you. a foul ball right in your living room. something tells me he remembers a few things against his former teammates. struck out 13 for his 11th win of the year. justin verlander joined sabathia, picked up an 11th win. shut down the red hot mess. they couldn't stop verlander. tigers won it 5-2. finally, nothing going right on or off the field for the as. they lost to the rockies 5-4, and you know you're having a rough year when your fans have trouble spelling. that should say matsui land.bç]s the as kand win and their fans need a dictionary in oakland. that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a very safe fourth of july weekend. i'm fred roggin. >> are there alternatives to mega machines and box office explosions this weekend?

your early morning entertainment headlines are just ahead. the american buffalo already has a majesty and mystique all its own, but did you know there's a certain type of buffalo thought of by some as greater than any other? you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. let me take you through your weekend forecast and your travel plans. we won't see many issues out there. saturday looks nice and quiet over much of the west.

temperatures warm, we have a lot of sunshine out there. maybe some showers up there in nebraska. if you're traveling to the ohio valley on saturday, maybe some thunderstorms. as far as sunday goes, just a quiet fourth of july forecast. the heat continues in the west with dry conditions. partly cloudy skies in the northwest sunday. and for the fourth of july, we're still keeping the wet weather out of most areas. a few showers in arizona. if you're watching us on kakh tv. set up some lawn chair. listen to polka, old time swing. at concerts in the park at marine park. you like a little polka, right? >> absolutely. i was going to ask you. >> a smile on your face. >> you got to love the polka. here is a look at this morning's headlines in entertainment, as it often happens in the summer movie weekend, this is sure to be box office champ, but interesting to see if it has the legs to make a long run.

the 1/2-hour long "transformers dark of the moon" already notched the year's biggest opening day, $38 million on wednesday. it's also being watched as a big test for 3-d as the largest 3-d release ever printed. the film will be brighter. to counter complaints that most are too dim. it expected to earn $3 million over the weekend. not too shabby. others will be drawn to the comedy drama "larry crowne." it should crack the top five if you don't like those giant robot fights. the selena gomez comedy "monte carlo" will finish as high as $10 million. anything on thatj>ylist, bill, tickle your fancy? >> i really don't want to see the robots blowing everything

up. >> you don't want to see the giant robot fights? >> but i feel like i will be missing out. >> you should go see it for both of us. >> you're off the list. >> i'm off the list. this comes to us from kxas in dallas/ft. worth. one newborn is getting texas-sized attention for its uncommon color. folks have been flocking to the lakota range to see a rare white buffalo. special from the start, the 6-week-old was born in the middle of a thunderstorm which led to his name lightning medicine cloud. the pale colored cow is according to legend that the goddess of the beast first appeared in a white cow.

for one group of students in switzerland school isn't out for summer. one charm school is in full swing teaching etiquette classes to young professional women. students from around the world attend sessions on how to eat food without ever using one's hands. even a tricky apple or orange should be peeled or cut only by using a fork and a knife. if you look carefully, aliens seem to have taken over paris. a french artist known only as invader has installed whacky mosaics of alien faces scattered throughout the city. it's his way of getting the pieces out of the gallery and on

to the streets for everyone to enjoy. in total about a thousand faces have popped up so far. runners opt for sneakers, but that's not nearly as interesting as what runners wear for one race in spain. high heels hit madrid's cobble streets in what has become an annual tradition during a week-long gay pride festival. about ten competitors took part. no word on whether any high priced designer pairs were harmed during the race. here's to hoping, right? >> i only have three inch stillettos. that's the highest i have. what about you? >> yeah, something like that. >> oh, come on. you have four or five-inch ones. come on. >> five. time now for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day here. "atlantis" is expected to launch there july 8th, the beginning of the end of the 30-year program.

thanks to a new law beginning today customers with dogs can bring their pets to maryland restaurants with outdoor seating&m: dogs are required to be on a leash, and canine patrons must be attended by an adult. on this day back in 1979, the walkman cassette player, the ipod of the '80s, went on sale for the very first time. huh. the walkman. all day long you can stay on top of the very latest developments in those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news," and finally here's what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. the latest in the casey anthony murder trial as the defense rests its case. plus, casey anthony bodyguards speak out about the family in a "today" exclusive. and rapper pit bull performs live with some of his big name friends, including marc anthony, t-pain and neyo. sounds pretty good. now, keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and much more. i'm veronica de la cruz. thank you for watching "early

today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. the day today on your nbc station. have a terrific weekend. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com